Mayor Walt Maddox has proposed a series of policy changes in an attempt to reduce motor vehicle and fuel costs while more accurately tracking surplus funds for budget planning.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Mayor Walt Maddox has proposed a series of policy changes in an attempt to reduce motor vehicle and fuel costs while more accurately tracking surplus funds for budget planning.When the mayor presented his proposed fiscal 2015 budget to the City Council on Tuesday, he said it already contained the groundwork for lowering gasoline and diesel fuel expenditures.To supplement this, he wants the council to analyze the city of Tuscaloosa’s current vehicle take-home policy to see where changes could be made to cut down on unnecessary wear and tear, thereby lowering vehicle maintenance costs.“Out of the budget process also has come the need for us to take a look at some policy (decisions),” Maddox said. “In the coming months, you’re going to have policy proposals come to you that were born out of this budgeting process.”Both the vehicle maintenance and fuel cost estimates have been reduced 5 percent from the current year’s expected final costs in the fiscal 2015 budget. For the fuel budget, this amounts to an allotment of $2.07 million, or a $51,000 reduction from the $2.12 million that is expected to be spent on fueling up city vehicles by the time fiscal 2014 ends on Sept. 30.The mayor wants to continue the reduction in future budgets and is calling on the council to review the regulations and guidelines that govern the city’s vehicle take-home policy.There are 296 city-owned vehicles in the take-home program, and the employees that use them are allowed to drive them to homes up to 25 miles away from City Hall.Amending the policy will not be simple, but there is some room for change. For example, Maddox said it makes little sense for a Water and Sewer Department employee who is on call for failing lift stations to be called away from a home north of Tuscaloosa to a problem near the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plant.“I believe we need to go and take a step back and look at our take-home vehicle policy,” Maddox said. “I feel there are opportunities to reduce costs and I believe we can do things structurally, and over time, to reduce the costs of take-home vehicles.”For future budgets, Maddox wants to establish capital funds for Public Safety and Public Works operations.While nothing more than an accounting practice, the new funds will allow city leaders to have a better understanding on how one-time revenue sources and expenses affect current budgets.“What this does, it allows us to take one-time revenue proceeds, put them into a fund (and) allows us — in some cases — to expedite purchases for city services,” Maddox said.The sale of an unused Fire Department property, such as the former Fire Station No. 4 in Alberta, cannot be counted on in future budgets. Likewise, the one-time purchase of a trash truck, no matter when the funds were allocated, shouldn’t be accounted for outside of the fiscal year in which it was purchased.To correct this going forward, the mayor wants these two funds separated from the rest of the General Fund and, for now, the Public Safety Capital Fund is expected to continually stay funded as a means for future equipment and vehicle purchases for the city’s public safety departments.Maddox is proposing to direct revenues garnered from the city of Tuscaloosa’s red-light violators captured on the city’s camera into the Public Safety Capital Fund in order to have a steady revenue stream for future public safety purchases.These two funds also will help city officials better gauge when and where the city’s revenue is flowing.